Bryn Evans (rugby Union, Born 1984)
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Bryn Evans (born 28 October 1984) is a retired New Zealand
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player, who most recently played as a
lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...
for the in
Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...
and in New Zealand's
National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...
competition.


Club career

Evans was born in Hastings and attended high school in Napier. He was accepted into the New Zealand Secondary Schools team in 2002 and played for the New Zealand Divisional XV in 2005. The following year, he made his provincial debut for
Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...
in the
Air New Zealand Cup An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
.All Blacks statistics: Bryn Evans
Retrieved 24 September 2009.
In 2008, Evans signed with the
Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
in the Super 14. For the 2009 season, he switched to the Wellington-based
Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
. Evans joined English club
London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...
in 2011 on a two-year contract. The All Black second row was one of numerous international players to join the club in 2011. On 10 June 2014, Evans joined French club
Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Iparralde, Basque city of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...
in the
Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...
league. On 21 May 2015, Evans returned to England to sign for
Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...
on a two-year contract. He left Sale at the end of his contract on 30 June 2020. On January 3, 2020, he was named in the English Premiership team of the decade, following successful spells at
London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...
and Sale. Following his stint in England and France, Evans returned to New Zealand, with plans of becoming a winemaker at a winery in Hawke's Bay that had recently been purchased by the Evans family. Evans returned to play for
Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...
from
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, nine years after last playing for the side, in the reformed
National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...
and subsequently signed to play for the Highlanders for the
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
and 2022 Super Rugby seasons. Evans retired from professional rugby after the 2022 National Provincial Championship season.


International career

Evans earned his first start for the All Blacks in 2009, making his debut against France in June. He played two tests against France, before a back injury forced him to pull out for the rest of the international mid-year season, as well as the
2009 Air New Zealand Cup The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was the 33rd provincial rugby union competition, the fourth since the competition's reconstruction in 2006, involving the top 14 provincial unions in New Zealand. It ran for 15 weeks from 30 July to 7 November. It was ...
.


Coaching career

Upon retiring from professional rugby following his 2022 seasons with the Highlanders and
Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...
, Evans opened an
eatery A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
with his wife in
Havelock North Havelock North () is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of local government saw it merg ...
, called Brother. At the same time, Evans took up a coaching position for the Hawke's Bay Magpies, serving as their forwards coach from the 2023 season onwards. They closed the cafe when Evans was offered an assistant coaching role with the
Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, starting from the 2024 Super Rugby season, focusing on lineout and kickoff coaching. Evans was announced as an assistant coach to Scott Robertson's
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...
for the 2025 international season, joining the coaching group as a specialist lineout coach. The appointment would see him step down from his coaching position at Hawke's Bay, however, he is due to rejoin the Hurricanes for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season at the conclusion of his commitments to the national side.


References


External links


All Blacks profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Bryn 1984 births Living people People educated at Napier Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Hastings, New Zealand New Zealand international rugby union players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Blues (Super Rugby) players Highlanders (rugby union) players London Irish players Biarritz Olympique players Sale Sharks players Rugby union locks New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in France